Annual event aims to bring people together through food

CARLSBAD — If you've ever wanted to taste the cuisine of Sierra Leone (that little country in West Africa), next Thursday is your chance.

The fourth annual Taste of Culture event on the campus of New Mexico State University at Carlsbad will be from 5 to 7 p.m. Nov. 12.

The event, which has been held in May in past years, will feature 19 cuisines from foreign countries including South Korea, Chile and Canada.

Khushroo Ghadiali, director of marketing and publications at NMSU Carlsbad, said the event recognizes the large amount of diversity in the university's faculty and staff, who come from places like Nepal, India, Iran and Nigeria.

Taste of Culture at NMSU Carlsbad generally draws a large crowd.(Photo: Courtesy of NMSU Carlsbad)

"The whole purpose behind this is to introduce the Carlsbad community to a little bit of culture from these different ethnicities," Ghadiali said.

Event chair Lupe Bernal, who is on the NMSU's Diversity Committee which plans the event, said there will be a "customs check-in" where visitors will receive a passport that is good for three tastings from each of the 19 tables. Local group Mariachi Unido will provide musical entertainment.

Bernal said many of the participants had to shop for ingredients in El Paso and Albuquerque, because Carlsbad does not offer much of a foreign grocery selection.

The event is free and open to the public.

Eduardo Chappa, chair of the diversity committee, said the opportunity to sample homemade food from other countries is truly special.

"This is the real thing," he said. "The opportunity to try something that you are not usually going to try, done by people who actually come from the country."

In addition to getting a taste of different cultures, Ghadiali said the event paves the way for deeper interactions with one another.

"These people bring a different worldview than our own," he said. "What better way to get people to unite than over food?"

Last year, the event brought in between 400 and 500 people, so Ghadiali advised coming closer to 5 to ensure all 19 dishes are still available.